Hey there,

I guess that it has only been since monday afternoon since I last posted but I know that if I don't post today I won't get to it by Sunday. I can't believe that is the 30th of March already. On Monday morning I will have officially been in Guyana for 19 full months. I feel like my mantra lately is "Where has time gone?!".

This week at our house we had an official casserole competition. We normally sit down to make the menu of the week every Sunday. We each pick a night to cook and list the ingredients that we need to make our dish. Sarah decided that she was going to make vegetable casserole and then Audrey said she was going to make egg casserole. After that Sarah said we should just have casserole week and Meg and I followed suit. I made a pasta casserole and Meg made a Mexican casserole. Everyone has made their dish so far except for Audrey, her night is tonight. I do have to say that after inheriting my Grandmothers cooking skills I think mine was by far the best! :) Well... that's what I would like to think anyway! :)

This week was the last full we of school before the end of the second term at school. Starting the week after Easter we will begin the third and final term. Since we were just doing review for the week rather than starting something new my students easily distracted me. I don't know how they do it but they always get me on some side topic discussing or debating one thing or another. The topic that we most often discuss is relationships. The boys at school are always picking my mind asking me what they think is right or wrong in a relationship. It's not because they actually want to know my opinion but rather because they try to sneakily try and pick apart my personal life which I keep very private. We have a lot of laughs though and they teach me a lot about life in all of these conversations. It helps me to remember that how you are raised really does affect your views on the world and that we need to put ourselves in someone else's shoes.

Speaking of shoes I went shopping today to find a nice pair of flats because I am volunteering at a Sweetheart Auction tonight! One of my very close friends Venus is founder of a non profit organizations called RedBandAid Foundation. They are a local foundation that tries to run events for local charities. The event tonight will benefit a local Muslim girls orphanage. They are hoping to be able to buy some computers for the girls with the money raised from the event. Although I am a full time volunteer I always find it nice to do something different for a change. It helps me remember not to get stuck in a rut and gives me new life.

As a child did you ever see your parents doing something that you just thought was sooo stupid and you couldn't believe they were doing that? Or they would have catch phrases that they would say over and over again and you swore on your life you would never say it. I was definitely that child and I said I would never say the stupid saying my Mother said. Now I love my Mother very dearly - and the other day I was talking with my room mates and I realized that I was talking exactly like my mother. I guess they weren't so stupid after all because I am definitely my mothers child. Oh geeze! Reminds me of how often we always say we are never going to do something and ten years later we are doing the exact thing we condemned. I feel like I should take this lesson and apply it to other areas of my life. Never say never because you really don't know what life will throw at you.

I pray that you all have a blessed Holy Week. I will blog again after Easter. I will also make sure to let you know the winner of the casserole competition. :) I know that I can't wait for Mass on Easter Sunday because I as always have missed the Gloria a LOT. God always shows me Himself through music and lent is always a very hard time for me in that regards. :)

Remember we are not Christians of Good Friday rather we are Christians of Easter Sunday. Thanks be to God! :)

Love always,

Ashley Ann


Ps - Here are the reflections from my roommates from our Corps Connections. They write these as reflections to the other Mercy Communities but I thought they were nice to share!!! And hopefully they can give you some inspiration because i'm all out this week!





It started by simply looking around me. On
my way to work, I see the trenches lining
the edge of the roads full of water. This
water is runoff from the rains and eventually flows into the oceans. On its way out,
it is home to frogs and tiny fish. The roots
of trees and plants drink deeply of these
waters to be ever-green. This is a lush
tropical paradise, mostly due to the bounty
of water. Unfortunately, Guyana has a
trash and littering problem. This morning at Mass, Father
said the we are all too indifferent to each other. We say,
that's none of my business. No longer can I stand by and

watch a friend litter Guyana. I am committed to not littering
the waterways and to telling others not to do so as well. Also,
I am trying to be a conscious consumer, buying items with
less packaging. We started buying the giant peanut butter jar
because buying in bulk often leads to less packaging ending
up in the dump. I want the waterways to be beautiful and
teeming with life!  
Next, I started to think about drinking water. Pipe water
(from the tap) is not advised for consumption in Guyana because of contaminates. At my house we have four 5-gallon
bottles of water. Each week we take our empty bottles down
to the water store where they are filled. Then we take a taxi
back to our house with the full jugs and carry them upstairs. It is a process that in the past has been annoying to
me, a chore that I detest doing because it is so laborious. But
this Lent, I am reflecting on it in attempt to change my attitude. There are people in Guyana who cannot afford safe,
clean drinking water. They drink from the tap and have all
their lives. We don't even really know what is in the water or
what the long-term health complications may be.  nstead of
begrudging the drinking water struggle in my life, I am learning to be thankful for what I have. I am thankful not to have
to boil all the water I drink or use purification tablets. I am
thankful not to have frequent gastrointestinal problems related to the water. I am thankful that I grew up in a country
where children are able to drink out of a garden hose on a hot
summer day! Clean, safe drinking water is a basic right, yet so
many people do not have access to it. I am trying to look into
the social justice issues here and get involved.
The other major use for water in the household is for cleaning. We use it to wash our bodies, clothes, dishes, floors, and
a multitude of other things. I am trying to be conscious of my
water use in the house. In Guyana, the water pressure from
the pipe is very low. It is so low that it commonly won't have
enough pressure to get up to a second story. We are blessed
to have a water storage tank and electric pump. In our back
yard we have a water tower.  It is a concrete stand with a 250
gallon black plastic water tank about 30 feet off the
ground. The pipe from the ground is connected to this tank
and when we turn on the electrical pump,
water is pumped from the ground up into
the tank. When it is full, we turn off the
pump. The water flows from the tank by
gravity into our house fixtures. Now we
are lucky because most Guyanese do not
have this set-up. It is expensive to build
the tower, buy the tank, and pump. So
many Guyanese must go to the ground
pipe for water.  This means their actual
houses do not have running water in them. I have seen many
Guyanese bathe, wash clothes, and prepare food right in the
yard because that is where the water is. For other tasks,
buckets of water are carried upstairs into the house. I am becoming more conscious of this and trying to live simply, as a
Guyanese must. We live on a busy corner so no yard baths for
me. But so far, I have given up showers. If you don't have running water, you fill a wash basin (about 10 gallons) with water and bathe that way. I have to say, I like it better and I'm
using less water. I hope to fully convert myself to carrying up
buckets of water that I use. So far, I've been too lazy.  I know
it will make me thankful for the water I use because I must
carry each bucket up the stairs. I hand wash all my clothes in
these same wash basins and this week I noticed how much
water I used in the process. I am still thinking of ways to cut
down on this water consumption, probably my greatest consumption. No ideas as yet. Not all problems have solutions.
As long as I stay conscious of the usage, maybe that’s the best
I can do.
Finally, I would like to share a tale from the bedside this
week. I had a 90 year old woman with heart failure. She was
using a high flow of facemask oxygen, which dries out the
mouth.  I took off the oxygen to give her a drink of ice cold
water. She swallowed it and sighed with a smile. Then she
said, "Water is life!" Water is indeed life and I am grateful for
her words of wisdom.
 
 In Peace,              
         Sarah D Grave



Moving to a foreign land,
Everything is new,
Realizing that the world is a lot bigger than I knew.
Coming to Guyana, saying
Yes to God's will for me, learning
 
Valuable lessons, that helped me to see,
Others in a brand new way, and
Life as a journey towards God,
United in one family of love, our Father does
Not rule with an iron rod!
This experience has definitely changed my life,
Even more than I can believe,
Especially my work at the orphanage, I'll
Really miss those boys when I have to leave!  I
 
Can hardly believe that my time is almost up, This
Opportunity to serve in Guyana will forever be
Remembered, with joy and love, and as a time of
Patience and growth.
So remember to share your love with others, and know that you're doing God's work.

Audrey Marrah




Wow, it's already March and time is flying!  It seems like it
was just a few days ago that I was the new white girl in
Georgetown, overwhelmed by a new culture, new people,
and a new job.  As I have had time to adjust, integrate, and
learn, I realize I am no longer overwhelmed by the newness
of everything, but rather I am overwhelmed by the love that I
have received here.  
When I outlined my purpose in mission before coming here,
it was pretty simple: be present to the people and experiences I encounter and love with my entire heart.  As some of
you may be experiencing yourselves, I feel I have received so
much more love than I am able to give.  Whether it's the Sisters inviting you over and feeding you a LOT of food, a community practicing inclusivity, the random Guyanese catching
a bus for you, or your student staying late after school to
walk the fifteen feet from the school to the orphanage with
you, I am constantly learning what it looks like to love.  The
love that I have felt through Guyanese hospitality is one
thing I've come to appreciate.  
Another thing I am appreciating is the mentality here of "God
will provide."  I've learned that the Guyanese don't like to
show their poverty, but the more I really see Guyana and
have gotten to know the Guyanese, the more I understand
the poverty here.  The poverty here is very real, but the Guyanese attitude seems to be "God will provide."  I don't hear
complaints about what folks don't have; rather, I hear
thanksgiving for what folks do have and hope that God will
continue to provide.  This faith and trust in God's work in
our lives puts into perspective all that I have to be grateful
for.


I continue to enjoy my work at the orphanage and am
becoming attached to my students, although they do have
their moments (like when they bring open jars of spiders
to class or the occasional can of bees).  I am reminded
daily how great children are - they always have a big smile
for you, they accept with an innocent love, and they forgive without holding resentment.  One of the other teachers often comments how the boys at the orphanage go
through so much - rejection that even adults cannot
handle.  Yet, they learn how to cope, move forward, and
embrace life with a smile, and for this, they are teaching
me lessons.

Meg Eckart